Front sight



April 19, 1960 J. J. HICINBOTHELM mom SIGHT Filed Jan. 2, 1959 E \g- 4:V INVENTOR.

JEROME 3- H\C.\NBOTHEM ATTOENEVs FRONT SIGHT Jerome J. Hicinhothem,Highland Heights, Ky.

Application January 2, 1959, Serial No. 784,712 2 Claims. (CI. 33-53 Thepresent invention relates to gun sights generally and in particular to afront hood type gun sight.

An object of the present invention is to provide a from sight forattachment to a firearm which provides a user with an easy, fast andvirtually unobstructed sight alignment with the target.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a front sight forattachment to a firearm which the sight includes a hairline memberoperable in either a horizontal or vertical plane.

A further object of the present invention is to provide nited StatesPatent a front gun sight for attachment to a firearm which includes ahairline member readily shiftable from a horizontal plane position to" avertical plane position.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a frontgun sight attachment for a firearm which has a head of minimumproportions supported upon a hairline member, also of minimum thickness,such bead and member being protected against damage or dislodging whenthe firearm is carried through brush and Weeds.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a front gunsight for attachment to a firearm which is sturdy in construction, onesimple in structure readily adapted for mounting upon the barrel of arifle, shotgun, or other firearm, and one which is economicallyfeasible.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will befully apparent from the following description when taken in conjunctionwith the annexed drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric exploded view of the forward end portion of agun barrel with the gun sight of the present invention installedthereon, the sleeve component of the present invention being shownremoved from the hood;

Figure 2 is a view in elevation of the assembly shown in Figure 1 Figure3 is a view taken onthe line 3-3 of Figure 2; and t Figure 4 is anelevational view of a modification of the sleeve component used in thepresent invention.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing in which like numeralsindicate like parts throughout the several views, the reference numeral10 designates the forward end portion of a gun barrel. The front sightattachment of the present invention is designated generally by thereference numeral 12 and comprises a ring 14 adapted to embracinglyreceive the barrel 10 of the gun. A ramp 16 is' exteriorly of the ring14 and is secured thereto by conventional means. A cap screw 18 extendsthrough the ramp 16 and ring 14 and bears against the exterior of thebarrel 10 and secures the ramp and ring to the barrel 10.

An open-ended cylindrical hood 20 is superimposed upon and carried bythe ramp 16 intermediate the ends of the latter. An open-ended sleeve 22is insertable into a and withdrawable from one end of the hood 20 and 72,932,896 Patented Apr. 0 19, 1960 of the sleeve 22.

As shown in Figure 1, one end of the sleeve 22 is provided with aplurality of notches 28 which are selectively engageable by a releasablelatch element 30 carried by the ramp .16. The releasable latch element30 consists in a short length of leaf spring anchored in a base member32 which is secured in a slot provided in the ramp 16 by means of a pin34 extending transversely of the barrel 10. A portion of the element 30projects outwardly of the ramp 16 and is engageable by the finger of ahand of a user to depress the same and release the sleeve 22 from itsposition within the hood 20. A stop 36 projects upwardly from the base32 through the hood 20 and limits the inward movement of the sleeve 22when inserted into the hood 20. p

In Figure 4, the sleeve 22' is modified to have the hairline member 24'extend from the head 26' radially in one 1 direction only to the innerwall of the sleeve 22', contrary to the form of the invention shown inFigures 1 to 3 in which the bead 26 is supported upon the centralportion of the hairline member 24 which extends from the bead 26 toopposite points on the inner perimeter of the sleeve 22.

The releasable latch element 30 is resilient and is normally. in theposition in which it will engage one or the other of the notches 28 inthe ends of the sleeve 22 when the sleeve 22 is rotated within the hood20 to a position in which the hairline member 24 is either horizontal orvertical.

In use, the gun sight attachment of the present invention may beinstalled upon the ramp of a gun sight or may be incorporated in thestructure of a ramp for attachment to a gun barrel 10 by means of a ring14 or other mounting means. Preferably, the head 26 is coated with aluminous paint so as to gather as much light as possible during daylighthours, making the gun sight of the present invention especially usefulas light fails in late afternoon and early evening. The sleeve 22, 22 iseasily insertable into the hood .20 and as easily rotated within thesleeve and locked into positions of its rotational movement by the latchelement 30, such positions including a position in which the hairlinemember 24 is horizontal as in Figure 2 or vertical as in Figure 1.

In the modified form of the sleeve shown in Figure 4, the gun sighthairline member 24' affords the hunter or user of the firearm to whichthe gun sight is attached a nearly totally unobstructed view of thetarget.

What is claimed is:

1. A front sight attachment for a firearm comprising a ring adapted toembracingly receive the barrel of a firearm, a ramp exteriorly of saidring and carried by said ring, an open-ended hood superimposed upon andcarried by said ramp, an open-ended sleeve having a bead lying along thelongitudinal center line of said sleeve and a hairline member extendingfrom said head to the inner perimeter of said sleeve, said sleeve beinginsertable to the desired position in said hood for holding the sleevein position within said hood.

2. A front sight attachment for a firearm comprising a ring adapted toembracingly receive the barrel of a horizontal or vertical plane, and areleasable latch element carried by said ramp and engaging with one of aplurality of notches formed in one end of said sleeve when whollyinserted and rotated to the desired position in said hood for holdingthe sleeve in position within said hood.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,240,300 Blair Sept. 18, 1917 2,030,312 Mossberg Feb. 11, 19362,645,017 Haase July 14, 1953

